The Immune
by Melooza
Summary: The world has ended around Bella Swan. She lives sun rise to sun set alone, while at night fighting against what is left of the world. Her only hope is that her lost love is out there fighting just as hard to get back to her. AU/AH Canon
1. Prologue

She hurried down the street cursing herself for not paying closer attention to the day light. It was harder to tell the time of day with the sun hiding behind the cloud covered sky. Walking as fast as she could, careful not to fall, to get back to the one place she felt safe.

She chuckled at the the thought of feeling safe.

Safe is a word that took on new meaning in the past few months.

She knew that as long as she followed the rules he gave her before he left she would be safe until he got back.

He had to come back. He promised.

This is the thought that kept her fighting against the loneliness.

She wanted to show him that she was strong, and that she protected herself while he was gone.

Thinking of him gave her new strength. She passed by the empty cars and house who owners were long gone to make it to her haven. She smiled at herself knowing she would get there in time.

Unlocking the outer door she quickly unlocked the second. Once inside she closed her doors to the empty world to make it through one more night.


	2. Chapter 1

I would like to thank my Beta Dizzygrl28. I puffy heart you! To all my pre-readers, thanks for making me brave enough to post.

Not mine

* * *

_"You know why I have to leave you, right?" His voice sounded as broken as he looked._

_"Yes." I whispered. _

_"It isn't safe for you if I stay here. I couldn't live_ _with myself if something happened to you because of me. It is better that I go now, while I still have my mind". He was pleading now. I wasn't sure if it was more to me or himself. "I will beat this and come back to you. You will be safe here until then."_

_I didn't have the strength to speak, so I just nodded my head and squeezed his hand to let him know I understood._

_"I love you, and I am doing this for you, for us". Edward lifted my chin and kissed me with all he had._

_I knew that it wasn't safe to push things much more than kissing, but I just had to have him one last time before he left me. He seemed hesitates just slightly, but he quickly gave in to our_ _need for one another._

_It was frantic, passionate, and our bodies conveyed everything we couldn't. We held each other for a short time after, having nothing more to say and not wanting to say good-bye._

_The, with one last kiss, he left the bed we had shared for years, the house we were supposed to build a life and a family in, and my life for what I hoped was the last time._

**Present Day**

"I hate this! Why can't those _things_ just leave stuff alone?" I huffed as I repaired the damage to my outer window cover, hammering harder than I needed to.

I could hear him chuckling behind me, which didn't add to my mood.

"You know why they do it, and you also know that if you don't fix that cover then you will have no safe place to stay".

I hated it when he was right.

I hated it even more that after three months of doing jobs similar to this one day in and day out, there was no end in sight. No. I had to stop thinking like that. He would be back for me any day now, and we could leave this place forever and all the awfulness that it held.

"Shut the fuck up, Jake, and help me instead of mocking me. You will be out of a place, too, I might add, so earn your keep". I know I was being harsh on him, but I was in no mood for anything today.

"Alright! Alright! Calm down! Here, since you already started and have the tools, I will tell you what needs repairing and if you missed anything - fair enough?" He said, knowing it would take time for me to calm down. Plus, I think he just didn't want to be close to me while I was holding a hammer.

"Done! How much more do I need to do on this side?" I asked, wiping the sweat from my eyes while I continued working out my anger on the repairs.

"I'd say that you are just about done. You just need to tighten that patch right there and I think it will hold for a while, even with them ripping at it all night" he praised.

His last words sent a shiver up my spine. I knew he was trying to lighten the mood, but the thought of them trying to get into my home just caused me to panic. I said a silent prayer that that would not be the case tonight, knowing there was a 50/50 chance it still would be a stressful night.

We worked well into the afternoon, checking for any more damage that might have been caused and fixing what we found, only taking a quick break for food and water around noon.

"I want to do something unproductive now." I declared after patching the last window cover and tossing the tools in the toolbox, then lying down beside it.

Jake just rolled his eyes and shook his head at me. Fucker! He didn't do anything but point shit out.

"Well, what would you like to do if my idea is so bad?" I huffed. Lord knows I would be lost without Jake, but that didn't mean he can't piss me off from time to time. He found me about two weeks after Edward left. I was all alone and scared. I know that if it wasn't for him I would have lost the fight to keep my hope alive.

It's just that sometimes I wanted to forget that the world I'd once known had ended and was now left in shambles. I wanted to pretend that Edward was working in his lab at the hospital and everyone else would just rather stay indoors. It helped me keep my hope for something better.

"I know it is hard, Bells, but you need to remember why we are even bothering with all of this. You want to be safe, and so do I. We both know that Edward would want you to be as well." Jake was not fond of Edward despite the fact that they had never met. Jake just couldn't get past the fact that he left me alone to fight even though he knew there was no other way. He only spoke of him to motivate me to do what I needed to.

"Fine, Jake! What is next on the list?" I couldn't fight him when he played dirty.

"I was thinking that you should check on the water supply. We don't know if it will rain anytime soon. I just don't want to plan for what we don't have. After that I think we should get food and then call it a day. We don't want to cut it too close to sunset".

"Sounds like a plan. I just wish that we could have a free day, you know?" I added the last bit softly, not looking at him.

"I know, Bells. Me too." His whole body seemed to soften as he spoke. It was comforting to know he felt the same.

The water level was good. Even if it didn't rain for several weeks, there was plenty for the two of us. Plus, I had about 30 cases of bottled water if that ever happened. I was not looking forward to gathering more food supplies, though. I hated to go into any building that was not my home. I never knew what was going to be inside and that idea scared the shit out of me. At least I had Jake and the daylight on my side. He had a good sense on what places were okay and which ones that should be avoided.

Today we were "shopping" at a local drug store. These were the best due to the fact that many of them had large windows in the front. I tried to make Jake go in first, but he looked at me as if I had lost my mind. He did have a point; in times like these there is safety in numbers.

We made our way through the darkened store and everything seemed so much louder than it used to be. Our footsteps echoed through the rubble and mess that was left behind. I think the silence is the part I hated the most.

Jake took point and motioned for me to get a cart. He started to head down the aisles, pointing at things we needed while constantly looking for signs of danger.

As I began to fill the cart, I noticed Jake was pointing out things that I had forgotten we needed; shampoo (which doubled as soap), tooth brush and paste, floss, and other odds and ends. The food that was left in the store was well more than the two of us needed, but I still loaded my cart to its fill. I could not count on it being there if ever I were to come back.

Jake rounded the corner and smiled at me when he saw the full cart. I could see him doing a mental count to make sure we had gotten everything we needed. I did the same. As we walked out, Jake mentioned that one can never have too much water. He had a point, so I added all the cases that would fit in the spaces I had left in my cart.

We exited the store and I was pleased to see that there was a few more daylight hours left. This gave us plenty of time to walk back without having to rush. We walked in silence, down empty streets, past abandoned cars and houses to mine.

Once home, we knew we would not be heading out again, so we made sure that all the outer door and window covers were locked and in place before we went in for the night. I pushed the cart to the middle of the living room; I knew it could wait while I locked and secured all the inner covers. Jake did a run through to make sure that everything was ship-shape and that the inside was firmly locked.

Moving to the next task would be easier now that we knew we were safe for the night. I clicked on one of those little dome lights that run off batteries and hurried to get started. We spent the next hour moving, shifting, and stocking everything so we would know when we needed to get more. Once finished, I clicked off the light knowing that I needed to save the battery power I had.

Darkness filled the house and I panicked for a moment, feeling completely alone.

"Clam down, Bells. I'm here. We've had a long day, and I think it would be good for both of us to get some rest." His voice was kind and soothing. It put the fear at bay, and I followed it to bed, making it through one more night.


	3. Chapter 2

Thanks to Jess and Dizzy for holding my hand :)

Not Mine

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_"... And in other news today, reports of the "V virus" are on a steady decline thanks to the help of a vaccine..."_

_"That is fucking bullshit!" Edward spat as he entered the room loosening his tie._

_"I thought you said that you were getting closer to finding out what caused all this madness. Why would they report that things are getting better if it was bullshit?" I was confused and scared by everything that had happened as of late._

_Sighing at my question, he rubbed his face to gather his thoughts._

_"What are they supposed to say that wouldn't cause a panic? I mean, we still have no idea where this even started, how it spreads, or how to fight it. The only thing that we do know is it causes the infected to become severely anemic to the point of death. It doesn't matter what we do."_

_He looked so pale and defeated, not knowing how to make it right._

**Present day**

"Wakie, Wakie." Jake's voice broke through the morning silence.

_God he was annoying in the morning._

"No," I mumbled before rolling over and covering my face with my arm.

"Rise and shine buttercup." He sang.

"Go away!" I spat, trying to will myself back to sleep.

"The early bird catches the worm," I could hear the fucker's smirk as he said it.

_Looked like I was going to have to bring out the big guns this morning._

"Jake, if you want to keep your twig and man berries I'd suggest you take two big steps back and shut the fuck up!"

"I'd like to see you try. Get up lazy bones; we've got work to do."

I knew there was no chance I could fall back to sleep even if I wanted to, but I would not give him the satisfaction of getting up right away. I laid there thinking over what a quiet night it had been. I knew there would be little that would need to be fixed and didn't feel a rush to get it done.

"I know what you are thinking, and you are wrong. There is plenty that needs to get done today and we only have the daylight hours to do it." I could hear the smugness in his voice.

"Last night was a quiet night. What could be so pressing?" I made no effort to get up. I wasn't ready to give the bastard the satisfaction of guessing my thoughts.

Eventually, I dragged myself out of bed and got a start to the day. Like I guessed, there was nothing out of place on our exterior protections and our water levels were just fine.

"Okay, Mister 'it will be the end of the world if we sleep in,' what was so God damn pressing?"

"Well, I was hoping that once we finished and got cleaned up we could go on a walk."

Now it was his chance to be smug.

Bastard.

"If you think that is a good idea, I suppose." I said, trying to fight a smile.

He knew he'd won, but he let me have my pride, at least for now, and just walked away shaking his head.

If I was told six months ago that going on a walk would be the highlight of my week, I would have laughed at them. Today, a walk was about as close to a day off as I could get. It was really more like scouting the area and tracking the changes close to home, but I would gladly do it if it meant no heavy lifting or going into dark empty buildings.

I quickly got dressed and we were soon on our way.

"Since it has been quiet lately, I think we are okay staying close to home and maybe checking out the local park, depending on what we find on the way." Jake said as we started out.

"You have yourself a deal, my friend!" This time I didn't even fight the smile that crept onto my face.

"Were friends now?"

"God! Do you always have to be such a douche? Here I am trying to be nice and you have to be an ass. Were you always like this?"

"Yes, it is part of my charm." He chuckled as he said it.

"What definition of 'charm' are you using? If it's the one that means 'bossy ass who _can_ be cool but chooses not to be most of the time,' then yes you are quite charming."

We continued our playful banter as we walked along, it help distract us as we walked, keeping our minds off some of the more gruesome remnants left behind.

"So everything looks good to me, so are we good to go to the park?" I asked hoping he had the same sentiments.

"Sounds good to me. Let's go." He said smiling.

The park was one of the few places left fairly untouched from the madness. It really was beautiful despite the lack of maintenance. We made our way over to a shady place and got settled.

"If you could have one thing right now what would it be?"

"Edward."

"OK, so I didn't think that one through. Let me try this again. If you could have anything to eat right now what would you choose?"

"Edward."

"I meant food product you perv!"

"Fine. Ice cream.... On Edward." I had to fight back a laugh after answering.

"Now you are just being difficult. I did not need that mental image." He whined.

Messing with him was just too easy. Deciding to give him a break, I answered.

"All joking aside, I really would love a pint of 'Phish Food'."

"You want to eat food you would feed a fish with?" He asked in disgust.

Realizing how it sounded I burst out laughing.

"Not that kind of fish food! The ice cream flavor called 'Phish Food'. It is, well, _was_ a chocolaty party on a spoon."

"That sounds significantly better than what I first thought." he laughed.

We passed that rest of the afternoon laughing and relaxing. All too soon, the sun began to dip in the sky and we knew it was time to head back. We were halfway home and my spirits were high.

"Hey Jake what do you say we race home? Come on, it will be fun for you to pretend you can beat me." I teased hoping to get a rise out of him.

"Bells, a few things. First, I know I can beat you so don't go there. Second, the last time we raced you cheated and when I called you on it you wouldn't talk to me for a week. Do you really want to go through that again?" He countered.

"I didn't cheat and you know it. Stop being a pussy and race me." I threw back at him

"Bella..."

Hearing surrender in his voice I took off down the street. Okay, so I cheated last time, but what can you do?

"Bella, you are _such_ a cheater!" He yelled after me.

I looked over my shoulder to see him running after me. He had a huge smile on his face as he ran. His smile reminded me of one I missed more as each day passed. That smile also called me a cheater when we raced. Hey, I was nothing if not consistent.

I was so lost in my musings of the past that I didn't see the break in the side walk, and I went down like a sack of potatoes.

"BELLA!"

I did a quick check to make sure I hadn't broken or sprained anything, but other than a big scrape on my knee that would have to be taken care of, I was fine. Sighing, I brushed myself off and stood. By that time Jake was by my side panicked.

"Bella, you are bleeding and you need to stop it and get home fast." He was frantic

"Jake, calm down it is just a skinned knee and the bleeding has stopped." I replied while beginning the trek home. I was embarrassed over the fall and couldn't look him in the eye.

"Bella, look at me! I am not talking about your leg. It's your head I am worried about."

I felt the back of my head and was met with a sticky throbbing mess.

Shit.

Ripping my shirt over my head I placed it over the wound and started home. Getting there in record time I fumbled with the locks while Jake was freaking out by my side and it was only once we were inside that he seemed to calm a little.

"We should be Okay, but we need to check the locks on everything." I said trying to calm him, hoping it would help. "Head wounds look scarier than they are. They tend to bleed a lot, but don't worry because I have stopped it. See?"

"I just have a really bad feeling about this." he whispered.

No sooner had the words left his mouth when I heard the footsteps outside. I knew those footsteps. I also knew I had to act fast.

"Jake, they are here. I can't listen to them tonight. I am taking a pill, you want one?"

"No, I am good. I'll keep watch and wake you if there is trouble."

"Thanks."

And with that I took two sleeping pills and one pain pill to stop the pain, and then I went into my room to hide under the covers, praying they would work before the hell started.

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Thanks for reading :)


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